Ab initio
by Chaed
Summary: Twenty-four hours before the Mansion Incident Albert Wesker receives the miracle virus. Chapter 9: Wesker finds the mysterious gift that will change his life and contemplates Birkin's reasons for giving him the chance to go back to the beginning
1. Chapter I

**ab initio  
**from the beginning

**By**: Chaed  
**Rating**: T (just like the virus g)  
**Disclaimer**: I'm a poor student. If I owned Resident Evil do you think I'd use the adjective poor??  
**  
A/N**: I had this story in mind for a long time, and I wanted to write it before the release of Umbrella Chronicles, which will undoubtedly destroy all my theories over the oh so mysterious Wesker-virus and its origins. I hope to finish this before the game gets out. Nearly all chapters have already been written, so I should update very frequently.

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Chapter I

William Birkin had been very reluctant to leave his work. He usually ignored the phone while being occupied with the virus, but the caller hadn't given up so easily. With reason. He wasn't a man to abandon the tasks he was working on before they were finished, but this was an entirely different matter.

His steps echoed through the deserted hall as he sped down the corridor. Many of the neon lamps that were actually supposed to bestow light in the rooms weren't working anymore or had been destroyed, but when Wesker had briefed him on the phone, he had claimed that this way was still safe and free of the infection.

The call. Birkin frowned at the thought, unconsciously quickening his pace. There had been a spill and naturally Umbrella was trying to clean it up. He'd been so absorbed in the work at the Raccoon Labs that the news had struck him as the most horrible and morbid surprise.

Wesker hadn't been very descriptive earlier, but it didn't take Birkin long to put the pieces together and create an image of what had happened. The virus had spilled, for whatever reason, and the employees at the Training Facility had fallen victim to it. The defense system would lock down all contaminated areas, but until the clean up teams arrived he and Wesker were to monitor the happenings and prevent any inconveniences.

Birkin took a sharp left reaching a door titled 'Surveillance'. He pushed it open, flinching slightly as the hinges croaked through the entire hallway in agony. The wall before him was filled with monitors, some working, some not. The few that showed movement were probably for the underground labs, were the spill must have occurred and the majority of workers had been trapped. In front of the screens sat no other than Albert Wesker, though the man did not bother to turn around as Birkin entered.

"You're here," was the only thing he said, his voice calm and collected. Birkin could find no trace of agitation or even nervousness in it.

He didn't answer Wesker, instead walked up beside the man and started to observe the screens himself. He could discern almost none of his former colleagues, the virus and its effects having mutilated most of their faces beyond recognition.

"The Umbrella service should arrive within the next three hours. I have been here for the past thirty minutes, but nothing of interest has happened. As far as I can see, nobody has survived the leak and the carriers still seem to be too busy to escape," Wesker explained.

He pointed to one of the screens that showed a subbasement laboratory, "Some of the Ma-39s have escaped, though it is unlikely that they will make it to the surface area. I haven't seen one attempt to use the elevators yet."

Whatever the last sentence was meant to be, it certainly hadn't been a joke, Birkin was sure of that. He gave the skinned dogs another glance before going on. "What's with those?" he asked, gesturing to three screens that showed only static.

"They belong to the water treatment plant. The reason for their malfunction is yet unknown, but as soon as the team arrives, they will check it."

Birkin nodded.

"And the Ma-101s?" Also dubbed hunters, that kind of BOWs were incredibly dangerous, especially when out of control. Birkin had been one of the leading researches helping in their creation and he had seen them in action more than one time. Whoever had been so lucky as to be in their path had not survived the encounter.

"They are still in their cages," Wesker said calmly, for the first time bothering to look at Birkin. His expression didn't show much, especially with the omnipresent sunglasses hiding his eyes. "At the time of the spill there was no scientist in the observation room. As long as we don't venture down ourselves to press the release button, they should pose no trouble."

It wasn't on his to-do list anyway, and Birkin wanted to avoid getting near to any of the infected if it could be bypassed.

"How come the virus hasn't reached this part of the facility?"

"When the shutdown proceeded, it automatically locked all doors that reach this room or the hallway outside of it. No carriers can pass, and there is no ventilation system connecting to this very part either, making it relatively safe." Birkin didn't like the way Wesker had emphasized the word relatively, but perhaps he only imagined it.

For the first time drawing his eyes from the screen and Wesker, the scientist grabbed for a nearby chair and pulled it over, seating himself beside the STARS captain. He had no intention of standing until the clean up team arrived.

Wesker had turned his attention back to the monitors and Birkin was again reminded of the unfinished research he had been forced to abandon. Just when they had managed to successfully split up the mutagen allowing a selection of the parts they needed.

"It is nearly finished…," he said, not noticing that he was speaking aloud until the last syllables had left his lips. Wesker didn't respond, for what reason ever.

"The G-virus. We have nearly perfected it," he continued, remembering Annette's joy after their recent progress.

Though Wesker did not move his eyes from the screen and he spoke the words calmly, they impacted immensely. "You are aware that they will take it away from you."

Birkin was stunned for a moment, wondering whether he should stand up and head back to the labs right away. "What?"

Finally Wesker's eyes parted from the monitors. "It is Umbrella's standard method of procedure, if you haven't noticed. Once the person in charge becomes replaceable, they do just that – find a replacement. It is their way of ensuring rapid progress."

"I am not replaceable!" Birkin insisted, clearly angered by the other man's statement.

Wesker just shrugged. "Not yet, perhaps."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that once you have advanced enough in research of your precious G-virus, they will distribute it to many eager scientists and dispose of you to make sure you won't get any funny ideas concerning joining any rivaling company. Surely, you must be aware of that, William."

Birkin was so taken aback by the statement that he remained silent.

"They did it in the past, I see no reason why they would change their behavior now."

"But…," Birkin was infuriated. How could Wesker dare?? Would Umbrella dare? They couldn't take it away from him. They couldn't simply take his life!

"Think back fifteen years, William, and tell me what you remember. Weren't we overly exited about all the new projects they assigned us?"

Though he was denying that something like that could possibly happen to him, Birkin knew exactly what Wesker was talking about, the memories now slowly returning. "That was something else," he defended himself, "we made substantial contributions to the advancement in bioengineering through our breakthrough with the Progenitor!"

Wesker glanced at him for another moment, obviously debating what to say in return. "Of course," he settled for in the end.

Suddenly a beeping sound started filling the room, and Birkin instantly turned his head to the computer screens. Something got loose, his mind screamed in alarm, something got loose and it's coming to get you.

There was nothing indicating such an incident to occur anytime soon though. The screens showed no difference from before, and the alarm hadn't gone off. Wesker, however, was fumbling in one of the pockets of his STARS vest, fishing out a small device that looked like a pager.

"I have to go," he said, tucking the pager back into the pocket and standing up.

Birkin's eyes widened, and he shot up from his chair too. "You're leaving?! Just like that?"

"STARS Bravo team is to be sent into Arklay Forest to investigate the 'cannibal murders'. My presence is requested when they leave. I should be back before the Umbrella team arrives though." He started walking toward the door, but suddenly Birkin blocked his path a slight horror in his eyes.

"You can't just leave!," he insisted, pointing frantically at the monitors, "We need to keep up observation until Umbrella comes!"

"You're here." Wesker pointed out flatly.

"Me?! I need to be at work! The virus-"

"-can wait," Wesker cut him off, "Keep an eye on the screens, until I return." And with that he was gone, pushing the door closed behind him and left Birkin alone in the surveillance room.

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**So this was the first chapter. I'd be happy if you told me what you think, perhaps suggest some ideas of how to make it better.**

**Now just a little bla-bla on the chapter: I had the outbreak occur - or at least Wesker and Birkin being informed about it - only a few hours before STARS Bravo team will move in. I can't exactly remember how it was in the game, but I guess Umbrella won't dally with their clean up too long.**

**I hope I was able to show a little of Birkin's paranoia. The man might be a genius, but he's gone totally crazy over the years. And Wesker, well...Wesker's just his usual poker-face self. It lets you wonder if he even thinks, or just **_**knows**_** it all.**

**Next Chapter should be up soon!**


	2. Chapter II

**A/N: Chapter numero duo of Ab Initio. Still no real action, but a hysterical Birkin should make up for that. Enjoy!**

Chapter II

Bravo team's departure had gone according to plan, and Wesker was able to leave the RCPD building once the chopper was out of sight. He was currently walking down the very same corridor William Birkin had previously used to get to the surveillance room of the Training Facility, hoping that the scientist had managed to stay put and would still be in the room when Wesker arrived.

When he opened the door he found Birkin staring at the computer screens, but the man turned around instantly when he noticed his presence. "Finally," he said and the relief in his voice was audible. Though William Birkin was a genius when it came to his line of work, he had never been a man of prompt action. The nervousness was literally written all over his face.

"Something got out." The sentence startled Wesker, and he took two long strides to reach Birkin.

"What?"

"I.. I don't know. I couldn't see it clearly. The image was fuzzy and I could only recognize something… bulky slipping out of the window on the ground level, before the camera went out."

"The camera went out?" Wesker asked, though the question was more rhetorical. He could see for himself that one more screen showed only static now. "Have you been able to recognize if someone – or something – got near the camera before it broke down? One of the carriers perhaps?"

Birkin shook his head. "The room was empty."

Wesker looked at his watch, "Half an hour and the clean up team will arrive. It might only have been some animal. Or perhaps your eyes have fooled you." Though he didn't believe neither his first or second theory himself, he didn't want Birkin to freak out now.

Ever since the scientist had buried himself at the Raccoon Labs with his precious virus, he rarely ventured outside anymore. Of course he had a home and even a small daughter, but Birkin was a man who lived for his work, not for his family life. And Annette, his wife, wasn't much better either. She kept adoring the brilliance of her husband.

Wesker sometimes wondered why they had gotten a child anyway.

"I thought about what you said earlier," Birkin suddenly told him, and Wesker looked up.

"About Umbrella I mean. About the G-virus."

"I see," Wesker answered, sitting down on the chair and starting to observe the monitors closely again. That didn't mean he did not pay attention to Birkin's words though.

He knew that Umbrella had taken a path that would only lead them into ruin, especially now with the spills at both Raccoon facilities. They might be able to cover it up and lay the blame on some cannibal cult that had found its way into Arklay forest and was mutilating innocent hikers - the until now 'official story' the STARS were currently investigating - but truth was that Umbrella had become careless, and was making mistakes.

And in this business one mistake could mean the end. Wesker had taken the necessary precautions not to be caught in such a dilemma, but he knew that Birkin would walk right into it if somebody didn't open his eyes.

He didn't want to see himself as some humanitarian soul, but after they had worked together nearly fifteen years and Birkin was a genius, no matter how paranoid he was. You didn't find such potential at every corner. And over the years Wesker had learned a very important thing about his fellow comrade: Birkin could easily be manipulated. Plant a seed in his brain and watch it grow. It had worked with the Marcus incident, and it seemed that it stroke roots with the G-virus now. Wesker hadn't even lied.

Umbrella's course of action was predictable. Birkin had worked on that virus for years, and hadn't yet delivered satisfactory results. On the scientific side, no doubt, he had created a breakthrough, but Umbrella wasn't interested in that. Superficially perhaps, but in truth they wanted results that brought money. Until now they had only invested into Birkin without getting anything in return. Once the G-virus would be completed it was bound to be brilliant, just like Birkin. But Umbrella did not have the patience to wait for it. Wesker had realized this over the years. Birkin had magically managed to ignore it.

"I've taken precautions. I'm not stupid," Birkin stated and Wesker had to agree on the second. Birkin wasn't stupid, usually he was only uninformed about his surroundings. He concentrated merely on that what he was doing at the moment, so fascinated with his work that he tended to forget the outside world.

Back when they had worked together he had often caught Birkin not knowing what time it was, or what day for that matter. He used to lock himself up in the lab and not exit for days on end. Wesker couldn't imagine how his attitude would have changed so drastically. Probably Annette had given him the idea.

"Umbrella isn't either," Wesker said with a smirk.

Suddenly one of the screens he had been observing started to flicker turning into a mass of dancing points not to seconds later.

"What happened?" Birkin asked, the slightest trace of fear in his voice.

"I don't know." The monitor belonged to the subbasement – the Hunter Room. That alone was unnerving already.

"They got out!" Birkin cried, standing up. "Your weapon… do you have your weapon?"

"Calm down, nothing got out." Wesker answered in a commanding tone. The hysteria on Birkin's face was visible. "I will contact the clean up crew now. They should already be on their way."

He lent forward and pressed a button, speaking into the microphone installed on the control desk in front of them. "Wesker here, report your status."

The line only buzzed in response for a moment, before a husky voice replied, '_We're on our way over, sir.'_

That seemed to calm Birkin down. He took his seat again and Wesker wondered whether he was going to be able and cope with it. Probably, he would. It wasn't the first time either of them had dealt with the virus, the only difference was that usually the test subjects had been under control. They hadn't dealt with a mass infection before either. To Wesker it was no matter of importance how many they were facing, but apparently Birkin was afraid. Whether it was because he feared for himself or because he feared for his precious virus Wesker couldn't say. But ever since they had the conversation Birkin had become edgy. Obviously it wasn't a topic he liked discussing.

_'Sir, do you copy?'_ came a question from the loudspeaker. Birkin shot him a confused glance, but Wesker ignored it. He pressed the button to respond.

"Yes, what's the matter?"

_'We've just been instructed to make a little detour, sir. The Ecliptic Express was warned about the Incident on the way here and should have returned to its point of departure, yet contact was lost with the train.'_

"At what point has contact been lost?"

_'In the Arklay forest, sir. A few miles before the facility.'_

Wesker didn't respond right away, searching his mind for the layout of the rails.

"I understand. Report when you arrive at the scene."

'_Yes, sir. Over and end.'_

Birkin hadn't said a word during the brief conversation, but his mind had been working.

"Do you think the virus has reached so far?"

Wesker couldn't off this question with the speculation of another technical problem and his thoughts had actually gone into the same direction as the scientist's.

"It could be possible."

But Wesker was worrying about something else at the moment. If there had indeed been a spill and Bravo team came across the forsaken train… - _then there'll be one problem less_ his mind finished for him, even though not quite along the same lines as his thoughts had been before.

Debating this new turn of events none of the two men noticed a shadow hushing across one of the screens.

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**I couldn't quite remember whether Birkin or Wesker knew about the train incident beforehand so I just decided not to. Muaha. Wesker still knows exactly what he wants, Birkin only wants back to his precious virus. If you ask me, he would have made an excellent Gollum if the Lord of the Rings was about biochemical viruses.**

**I'd love to hear you thoughts, people! Every review matters a great deal to me, be it flame or not. I want to know how I'm doing and you're the only ones who can tell me how incredibly bad I am :P... so jump at the opportunity!**


	3. Chapter III

**First off, thank you to wulfgarfang and Squirrel54 for taking the time to review this fic. I'm very thankful for your opinion, guys. You made my day! Chapter 3 in the story that changed a man. It is a little short, I admit, but this was the best point to end it. Chapter 4 is considerably longer, I promise! Enjoy!**

Chapter III

'_Sir, we've arrived_,' it crackled over the microphone. Wesker pushed the appropriate button.

"Report your status."

'_The train looks deserted, sir. Some lights are still on, but I can't see anyone inside. Seems like it's lain still for some time. Engine's out too. We're moving in now.'_

Both Birkin and Wesker leant forward, as if they could follow the happenings better that way. For a moment there was only static creating a slightly haunted look in Birkin's eyes. Wesker kept on his usual poker-face.

Umbrella had enough money to hire the best mercenaries out there. No doubt the team consisted of specialists in their field only, so there was no need to worry. Even if Birkin's assumptions of the spill having leaked as far were to prove true, these soldiers should be able to take on a few infected. The train was solely transporting employees, no experiments or whatsoever.

A shot to the head would down any carrier.

'_Sir, we're in now_,' the man on the other end reported. Birkin and Wesker leaned in to be able and hear better over the static. It might only be the connection, but something in the soldier's voice had changed.

'_The place is a wreck, sir. Everything's torn and broken, seems as if there's been a hefty fight in here. There's no trace of the passengers though.'_

"Perhaps they fled," Birkin suggested, but they both knew that it was only wishful thinking.

If the T-virus had gotten so far there had been no escape. And considering the mercenary's description, they were dealing with an infection. How it had reached the train was beyond Wesker though. They would find out soon enough he guessed.

'_We're proceeding to the passenger compartments now…'_ so they must have entered through the driver's cab, the STARS captain concluded.

"Wait," he ordered before the men could advance any further. "Check the systems. Is there any visible damage?"

A slight pause.

'_No, sir. There's a bit of a mess here, but the train should still be functional. The additional device needed to start it up is in the back compartment though, so I can't say anything about that.'_

Wesker seemed satisfied enough with the answer. "Proceed, then."

Another awful moment of silence – before hell broke loose.

'_What the-,'_ the soldier on the other end yelled and as soon as they heard shots there was no doubt left in Birkin and Wesker. _'…cover the flank Charlie… shoot them for Christ's sake, shoot…oh my god Evans…'_

There was a noise of a shattering window, and the two scientists could only imagine what had happened – or not. _'Retreat… RETREAT! Sir, we lost two men, there's leec- getoffme, you bastard…'_ There were a few more shots, then the line went dead, static the only sound in the little surveillance room.

Neither of the two said a word for some minutes, before suddenly Wesker's beeper joined into the static's monologue. He took it out of the pocket, but only glanced at it briefly tucking it back quickly.

Birkin was still frozen, his eyes locked on the microphone.

"They're dead," he eventually said, his voice a little unsteady. It took no expert to see that he was beginning to panic. "…they're dead."

"Yes, but for how long will they stay that way?" Wesker asked, though it was more of a rhetorical question, considering the situation, "Listen, I need to go. There have bee-"

"-go! Go?!" Birkin cut him off, "You're not going anywhere! Umbrella just failed to handle their little puppies, and we're sitting right in their nest! If those experts got killed by human carriers, how does Umbrella want to clean up the entire facility?! I need to go! I need to go and warn Annette, I need to go and safe my work before the infection spreads!" The blond scientist was on his feet by now, gesticulating wildly with his arms to underline the emergency of the situation.

His hysteria didn't seem to brush off on Wesker; the STARS captain was still sitting in front of the monitors, calmly watching Birkin's tantrum, from time to time glancing at the screens.

"Enough now," he finally said sharply and the tone of his voice indicated that the discussion was over. Even when they had both started working for Umbrella fifteen years ago, Wesker had always had the upper hand. Birkin turned out to be relatively easily controllable when the situation demanded it and he had always relied on Wesker to come up with emergency plans when one of their experiment had failed – or gone lose.

Birkin stopped speaking and seemed to calm down. He was still throwing questionable looks at both the monitors and the door.

"As I said there has been a complication with Bravo team's deployment and as leader of STARS I'm requested to handle the situation. I will leave in a moment and try to dispose of the problem quickly. Until my return, get into contact with Umbrella and tell them to send another team as soon as possible."

Birkin nodded in understanding and Wesker knew that he would comply with the orders given. He briefly wondered what exactly those complications with Bravo team were. If said complications turned out to be a minimal inconvenience Birkin's tantrum from before would be nothing compared to his.

The Training Facility was in need of his presence more than in the last twenty years, especially considering his future actions. He hadn't been able to catch on the last words of the soldier in the train – did he say leeches? – but he doubted STARS' complications were as dire as these here.

Umbrella needed to send a clean up team that actually made it into the building so Wesker could record their battle data. It was one of the pillars of his plan and if this pillar was destroyed he could scratch the entire project. If he was with STARS in Raccoon City he would have a hard time in obtaining the necessary files and concerning Birkin's growing hysteria there better be no big problem waiting for him at HQ.

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**Wesker's a busy man, Birkin must busy himself with observing the screens. Life's a bitch. Marcus is still acting from the shadows, but will reveal himself soon. When will Wesker get the virus? What virus does he actually get at all? Stay tuned, find out soon.**

**Want to make a person happy? Take a minute and leave a review! I appreciate every single one!**


	4. Chapter IV

**A/N: A very grateful thank you to wulgarfang, LinaRohn, Squirrel54, Redundant Goddess and Drew Caine (I don't really go by the Umbrella Chronicles, seeing as it will only be released 30.11 here and I hope to finish this story before, but I try to stick with the storyline known as much as possible), who were so kind as to brighten up my day with their reviews.**

**Chapter 4 of the story that is the beginning of an epic. Meet STARS, who don't know what is in store for them and Chief Irons who's... not really important.**

Chapter IV

"You lost contact." It was no question, it was a statement.

Brad Vickers huddled in his chair in front of the radio. He gulped and nodded slowly. Wesker hadn't even raised his voice, tried to act as cool as he normally was, but the Alpha team member seemed to feel his inner wrath. Vickers might be an exceptional pilot, but that was about it. Wesker wondered how and why he had agreed to the man's transfer to STARS in the first way, but couldn't seem to remember.

Behind him the rest of Alpha team waited silently for his decision and further orders. They never had doubted any of his commands in the past and with the plan that was slowly taking form in Wesker's mind the upcoming mission would put their loyalty on a hard test.

There were only fragments of an idea floating around right now, but if Bravo team wasn't faced with some technical difficulty there were only few options that could be taken into consideration. The reasons for their sudden disappearance was another matter entirely.

Since their initial orders had been to investigate the forest from above – as in not getting out of the chopper – he doubted they were faced with any carriers… yet if any of the infected had found a way out of the train… or if Bravo team had only come across the stranded Ecliptic Express they might have landed to take a closer look. In that case their ultimate fate was clear. At least to Wesker. Alpha team still lived by the illusion that Umbrella was a mere pharmaceutical company that sponsored Raccoon City because they had too much money to spare. He wouldn't be the one destroying their dreams.

"When was the last contact?" he asked, feeling a slight headache brewing. Hopefully Birkin had already talked with Umbrella. They needed to get the train out of the way.

Vickers checked the notes he had written down.

"1:37pm. Approximately half an hour after their departure. Now it's…-"

"- 2:14pm," Chris blurted out from behind before Vickers had the opportunity to check his watch.

Wesker didn't turn around to face the rest of STARS, instead he walked up to his desk and opened one of the drawers. Grabbing the papers that were inside, he calmly searched for the one he needed.

It was a form for approval of STARS operations. He put it on the desk in front of him and closed the drawer. Then he finally looked at the team before him, his eyes concealed by the always present dark shades. Vickers was sitting in front of the radio, quickly reverting to the task of trying to contact the lost Bravos. Chris and Barry were standing beside Barry's desk and Wesker was sure that the older man only waited for his approval to hand out the guns to his fellow teammates. Chris had that look on his face, the one that annoyed Wesker to no end. 'We'll go after them' it read 'lead the way, captain, and we'll be right behind you'.

He had such faith in his superior, in his friends and comrades. It would be his ultimate downfall one day, no doubt. Blind trust was a weakness that got you a knife in the back before you could even turn around to face your attacker. It was a weakness that would have prevented Wesker from ranking up – from even working for Umbrella, had he suffered from this... disease. Chris was too honest for his own good. Not that Wesker cared about the man's morals in any way. He could follow orders and that was the only important thing.

Beside him Jill leaned against her desk equally expectant about his decision like the rest of them. Joseph Frost was standing next to her, a grim look on his face. He had been promoted to Alpha team only a few weeks ago and was surely mightily worried about his former teammates.

Finally, Wesker spoke.

"Our hands are bound until 24 hours pass without any successful attempt of communication with Bravo team. They probably only encountered some technical difficulty. You all know that Chief Irons likes to invest money in art rather than equipment. Their radio might have protested."

None of the four people in front of him seemed to be convinced – well, perhaps Vickers was.

"Should the remaining time pass without any improvement I will have Irons' signature on this form and we'll commence a rescue mission."

The general mood seemed to rise. He'd hit a soft spot it seemed. Vickers had stopped breathing, but if worst came to worst Chris could fly the chopper.

"In any case I want Joseph and Vickers to double check the helicopter. Jill, try your best to get Bravo team talking. Barry's preparing the weapons – standard issue – and Chris will get any necessary additional equipment."

The STARS nodded enthusiastically, eager to follow his command. Once more Captain Wesker, cool and calm, knew how to handle the situation, no matter how hopeless it seemed.

His headache was turning into a migraine.

It seemed to him that Chris and Barry had disappeared with the slightest of pops before he had even finished speaking and Jill was shoving a still perplexed Vickers out of the chair, already starting to get in a better transmission.

Joseph grabbed the pilot soon after, dragging him out the door and most probably directly to the chopper. Which left Wesker alone with Jill, who seemed utterly concentrated on the task at hand. He wondered briefly whether to head right back to the facility, but then decided against it.

His sudden disappearances would only arise suspicion from his team, especially in such an intricate situation as this. Yet he could not remain here either. He only trusted Birkin as far as he could throw him in a matter of such urgency and could very well imagine that the man would start to panic if there wasn't a sign of Wesker soon.

Realizing that he had been lost in thought for too many minutes Wesker shrugged off the troubles, glad that Jill was too concentrated on trying to get a connection with Bravo to notice.

"I will be in Chief Irons' office." he simply stated, grabbed the paper and walked out of the room.

It really was his next destination. For one because Irons needed to give him the go ahead for the rescue mission and because he needed to keep Alpha team in check for the remaining hours until their deployment, so Wesker could get back to the Training Facility and settle the issue there.

Not to mention that he needed to stock up on weapons, ammo and get a basic layout of the Arklay lab. If he couldn't get the required combat data from the Training Facility he would do so at the Spencer Mansion. Contact had been lost with them too, and Wesker concluded that the virus had leaked there as well, or had left a trail of devastation the entire distance between the two labs. If he was forced to go in himself, Wesker wanted to be prepared.

There should be BOW bullets in the surveillance room where Birkin waited (Umbrella always took precautions), and what better battle data could he offer the Organization than combat between bioweapons and a Special Ops team? In addition to that there would be no one to stop him from collecting samples from the various experiments conducted there. Wesker had been head researcher at Arklay labs for some time, and he doubted that Umbrella had brought any research to a standstill. That meant tissue samples beginning from the MA-39s to the T-002. The latter should still be in a cryogenic sleep, which would make retrieving the blood sample easy.

Of course he couldn't know the exact reason for Bravo team's sudden stop of transmission, but he'd take Alpha team into the mansion anyway. If they found Bravo, he would lead both teams into Spencer's sanctuary. If they didn't, he would suggest searching there first, pointing out that the others might have come across the mansion too. Either way Wesker knew that he had the full loyalty of STARS. Whatever means were necessary to be taken, he would take them.

He didn't even bother knocking on Irons' door as he arrived at the Chief's office, but walked right in. Unsurprisingly the bulky man sat in his leather chair admiring another of his recently acquired pieces of art. Irons had a strange taste in art, but it was none of Wesker's concern what the man did with his money. Umbrella was slipping the police chief paychecks ever since they had established their underground laboratories in and around Raccoon.

The burly man turned around when Wesker entered, his expression very business-like. "What do you want?" he asked, coming straight to the point. Wesker's visits were rare and on the occasions that he graced the Chief with his presence Umbrella usually had something to do with it.

"I will take Alpha team into the Arklay forest. I need your signature," Wesker simply stated, not wanting to beat around the bush. There were still many matters that demanded his immediate attention.

"Alpha team?," Irons asked skeptically, "Bravo's already out, what do you need both for?"

"The contact was lost. I will take them in tomorrow morning."

"Wait a minute!" Irons protested, apparently annoyed that Wesker was bossing him around, "I'm the Chief here, I make the decisions!"

"Umbrella isn't paying you for creating problems, Irons." Wesker said, frowning behind his sunglasses. He didn't have time for this.

"Umbrella? They messed something up, didn't they? All these murders… Umbrella's always got something up their sleeve."

"I am certain that Umbrella would appreciate it very much if you kept your assumptions to yourself. What the company does is none of your concern. You get the money for looking away, not for making up conspiracy theories."

Irons hmphed, then motioned to Wesker to hand him the paper. He signed it without another comment. The blonde was about to leave the office, when suddenly he stopped.

"You need to do me one more favor."

Irons didn't seem very impressed about the request, but showed no inclinations to object.

"Keep the STARS busy while I'm gone."

"You leave?" Irons asked surprised. "I thought you wanted to go on this rescue mission."

"There are some things that need to be taken care of before that," Wesker said and with that exited the Chief's office, heading towards Umbrella's Training Facility. It was time to take matters into his own hands.

* * *

**Dum. Dum. Dum... Wesker's getting impatient, and what has our dear Dr. Birkin been up to? What happened to Bravo team, and who exactly is responsible for the t-virus leaks? Find out in the next chapters of Ab Initio!**

**You certainly have an opinion about this story. If not for me, at least let other people know what this thing's about in a review! **


	5. Chapter V

**Here is Chapter 5 of the story that decides the fate of many. Cookies to all reviewers! SuperDesdemona, Lord Leachim, yold6 and wulfgarfang, you know how to encourage a writer to go on!**

**IMPORTANT: As tomorrow will be the release of RE:UC in America, I guess that this story won't keep exactly to Capcom's plotline. If you play the game and notice this, please state in your review if you post a Spoiler. We poor Europeans still need to wait until the 30th and I'm already trying hard not to google all the spoilers. Don't throw them at me :P**

**Enough now, enjoy!**

Chapter V

During Wesker's absence William Birkin had a lot of time to think things over. He'd been in contact with Umbrella briefly telling them of the little mishap at the Ecliptic Express and they assured him that a Special Ops troop would be sent to the facility ASAP.

Since then Birkin had stared at the screens, only taking his eyes off them when they had started to burn. His mind however was racing.

Wesker's words about Umbrella's intention to steal his virus clung painfully to the scientist's thoughts. It was, if he reviewed the company's past actions, nothing out of the ordinary in their procedures. And there was something else that fired up Birkin's beliefs. The Facility. Or –ies if you wanted to form the plural.

Sure, Umbrella was still determined to send a Special Ops troop into the labs to retrieve samples, folders and whatever data was important to them. But Birkin couldn't see how they would contain and eventually drive back the virus without risking the lives of several of their best men. Not that Umbrella cared much about casualties, but the loss of one (or two if the rumors of Arklay Labs were true) multi-billion dollar investments not even they could put aside as if it were nothing.

They'd want the G virus to recompense for their financial loss, Birkin concluded, as slowly everything started to add up. Working for the company was a risky business, he'd known it when he'd first signed the contract. But Umbrella paid well and provided all means necessary to accomplish wonders other scientists wouldn't even dream of. If he hadn't been with Umbrella, Birkin could have in no way financed the research and utensils essential for the creation of the G-virus. Actually, he wouldn't even have had the idea to develop such a precious substance.

It was Umbrella's merit, and theirs alone, that Birkin had been introduced to a world where science went beyond the 'if we could' stage of research. Without the Progenitor as a base there would have been no T-virus, and no G-virus. Without the Progenitor there wouldn't have been the threat of an epidemic looming over Raccoon City, but Birkin wasn't a man who liked to dwell too long in the what-if realm.

He absentmindedly wondered when Wesker would return and what problems the police faced, though the latter was of lesser interest to Birkin. Whatever the concerns were, Wesker was the person to cast them aside quickly and turn to the more important matters at hand.

Which, for now, was keeping the facility in check.

As if to prove to himself that he could handle the situation alone Birkin observed the screens carefully for a moment, pleased to find out that everything was under control. Just as it should be.

Umbrella would deploy their team in the next hours and he could head back to the labs, continuing his work. Annette had stared at him with a mix of awe and worry when he'd left after Wesker's call, but he had not told her anything about his destination. He would when he returned though. He would tell her about what happened, and he would tell her about Wesker's warning. Yes, they had taken precautions; Annette had bribed Chief Irons into informing them if he got wind of anything. Birkin himself had recruited the team of scientists who were acting as their assistants. Umbrella had been quiet until now, demanding only the weekly regular report.

Yet Wesker's words could prove true any moment. He knew that Umbrella could act quickly when they wanted something, and should they indeed come after his life's work and would catch Birkin unprepared… he shrugged the thought off.

Unacceptable.

_They'll take it away from you, you must be aware of that, William._

Wesker's voice was resonating eerily in the back of his mind and Birkin did his best to ignore it. But the man still busied his thoughts. If Wesker knew about Umbrella's acts so much, why was he the literal personification of calmness? He had warned- wait, that wasn't even the word – he'd merely informed Birkin of the possible threats, yet he was still here, following a company's orders that could ruin him in the shortest of time.

The man was a mystery. To Birkin as much as to the rest of the world.

Just then Wesker entered the little surveillance room. His expression was emotionless, though perhaps only the sunglasses sucked all traces of feelings from his face.

"Anything new?" he asked and stopped in mid stride, waiting for Birkin to answer.

"Umbrella's sending in a new team soon."

"Good." Wesker didn't move to take his place in front of the surveillance cameras, but walked up to one of the many lockers in the room and opened it. His eyes scanned its contents, yet he didn't seem to make a find.

"What are you searching?" Birkin wanted to know. Surely the STARS captain wasn't just looking because he was bored.

"Don't they store BOW rounds here anymore? Or tranquilizers?"

Birkin froze. BOW rounds? "What?" he voiced his surprise and stared quizzically at the other man. "You don't want to go in there, do you?!"

Wesker turned his eyes away from his until now futile search and opened the next locker. "No. Not there. Umbrella's team is taking care of the Training Facility."

He stopped shortly, taking out one of the items from the cabinet, but it didn't turn out to be what he had thought. "Contact was lost with Bravo team a few hours ago, as you already know. They were flying over Arklay forest at the time, nearby to the mansion and the train. Imagine the rest."

It didn't take too much imagination to picture the incident. "But you won't go after them. You know that their chance of survival is beyond zero."

"I do," Wesker agreed, and turned to look at Birkin, "However, STARS don't. I have no other option than starting a rescue mission if we don't get any sign of life from then in twenty four hours… or what is left of those. And considering that the signal is horrible in that forest, I cannot picture a happy end to the story."

What Wesker said was more than true, only the calmness of how he said it startled Birkin. The man was about to venture into almost certain death – a death that he knew all too well and had made mockery of ever since he had joined Umbrella – but he behaved as if it was any other day.

"You can't be serious." Birkin eventually said, watching as Wesker inspected a box of ammunition he had just found.

"When was the last time I joked?"

That settled the argument. At least for Wesker.

Who finally took his seat beside Birkin, but he was still occupied with his findings and obviously let the observation to the scientist.

"And what will you do once you've found your team? Or better said, what is left of them? How will you explain that zombies are roaming the outskirts of Raccoon City?" Birkin normally didn't like using the word 'zombie', but that was how the infected would be best described by a civilian. Or a member of STARS, for that matter.

"I won't," Wesker simply said, "To them I am their captain. They don't know anything about my relations to Umbrella, or anything that happens outside the office and concerns me. If the virus leaked at such expanse as I think it has, the chance that we stumble across a carrier is relatively high. After all, Bravo managed. I will order a retreat and regroup and what better place for that than the old deserted Spencer Mans-"

"-Wait, you're going _there_?!" Birkin interrupted, his eyes wide.

Wesker looked up slightly surprised – or perhaps he only faked it – and said, "I thought that was clear."

Birkin was left speechless for a moment. The next, a beeping sound alerted them of an incoming message.

'_Delta team here… Delta team here, do you copy?'_

Wesker spoke into the micro, "Wesker here, what is your status?"

'_Have just arrived at the scene, sir, waiting for further orders.'_

"Good," Wesker said. "Head straight to the driver's cab and start up the train. Full speed."

"What are you doing?" Birkin asked, obviously lagging behind in understanding.

Wesker covered the microphone with his hand and looked at his partner. "The t-virus has spilled. How is irrelevant as of now. We must make sure no knowledge of this gets out. Destroy the train – completely."

_'Sir, the train is started,'_ the soldier on the other end informed them. _'We have gained control of the vehicle.'_

"Understood. Don't venture into the passenger compartments. I repeat, do not leave your position."

'_Roger, sir.'_

Wesker hesitated for a moment, as if thinking, then asked, "How far away are you from the nearest branch line?"

'_About ten minutes to-'_

The transmission stopped abruptly, the man's voice being replaced by horrid screams.

"What happened?" Wesker immediately demanded, but none of the screams could tell him anymore than they already knew.

Umbrella had lost a second team.

Birkin threw him a worried glance. "It's not the human carriers that killed them."

"No," Wesker agreed, but seemed to have no explanation of the attackers' mysterious nature. Instead of pondering over the newest change of events, he opened one of the drawers of the desk and rummaged through it.

"What are you searching?" Birkin asked impatiently. Why couldn't the man just talk?

"Something against my headache." Now if that wasn't the lamest joke of the year - or wasn't. As Wesker had pointed out himself before, he didn't joke often. He was probably not starting now, either.

"At least the train is out of the way now. With that speed it's bound to derail," the scientist observed, and the day brightened some.

"Yes. But without the soldiers branching it off, it is headed directly toward the Training Facility."

The day just considerably darkened.

* * *

**If you asked me, the train crashing directly into the Training Facility, destroying most of its immediate surroundings (perhaps even the upper labs) freeing god knows what creatures, couldn't have been part of Wesker's initial plan. Yet, that's how Resident Evil Zero says, so we authors need to find a decent reason to justify it. I hope this was a logical reason. With the second Umbrella team fed to the leeches, there's no way to gain control of the train (coughRebeccaBillycough) so Wesker and Birkin have no other option than to wait for the big BOOM!. **

**Still no sign of the virus... five chapters and there's no trace of it?! I have to be kidding you; which I don't :P Stay tuned. However RE:UC turns out to be (jealousy rising) you'll never know how Wesker got the virus in this story, if you don't read on.**

**Stay a little longer... oh, and while you're here click the button! You know you want to!**


	6. Chapter VI

**Number six in the story that's still shrouded in mystery. Once again a thank you to wulfgarfang and Redundant Goddess who took the time to read and review this story, instead of playing Umbrella Chronicles, which is now released across half the world, only not in Europe...grumblegrumble**

Chapter VI

When the Ecliptic Express reached the Training Facility there was a tremendous noise and the ground shook. The cameras that had been installed in the railway station only showed them how the train turned over before they were destroyed.

Judging by the magnitude of the crash however, they could be sure that none of the carriers had survived. Everything in its surrounding area had been rendered dead – and that for good now.

Wesker was already going over the various possibilities that could await him at the Spencer mansion, making mental notes of what equipment he still needed. Barry would provide everyone with a custom Samurai Edge – the STARS' standard choice of weapon – but for this particular mission a pistol was not enough firepower for Wesker. On the way back to the RPD he would have to stop at his apartment and snatch his Magnum AT. The human carriers would be no problem for the pistol, but if he happened to encounter any of the Hunters, the magnum was sure to blow them off their feet. Umbrella's surveillance room had provided only a box of ten BOW bullets and Wesker wanted to use them wisely. Apart from the Hunters the researches had also experimented with Chimeras before the outbreak and he couldn't know what still resided in its cage or not.

If he remembered correctly though, the number of both Hunters and Chimeras which were held in the labs was limited to about a dozen of both species. Should he encounter them, Wesker wouldn't want to kill them right away. He guessed the STARS would survive the carriers and one or two would also make it past the MA-39s. The dogs were most probable to have made it out of the labs into the upper levels of the Mansion.

Acquiring battle data meant that he needed to keep a close eye on Alpha team, without directly operating with them. He needed to stay a safe distance away and record their progress without haste. To see how they fared against the various BOWs he would most likely have to lure them down into the basement though. He hoped that the electronic cages containing the animals were still intact. Otherwise he'd have a hard time getting into the Arklay Labs' surveillance room. From there he would be able to document everything, given that STARS survived long enough.

One crucial thing he still needed were sedatives. Wesker didn't think that anybody would venture into the Aqua Ring, or the Residence at all for that matter. He would still samples of both Neptune and Plant 42 though. And Wesker wasn't about to take a swim with the sharks or freshen up his knowledge in Herbology.

He would have to release the water in the Aqua Ring and sedate the sharks before taking samples. Neptune wasn't worth wasting precious bullets on it, and neither could Wesker smuggle a flame thrower into the mansion to rid himself of that annoying plant without STARS noticing. They would be skeptical about his additional weapon already, there was no sense to unsettle them anymore.

"What's that?" Birkin suddenly asked and Wesker's eyes locked with the monitor that showed the Main Hall of the training Facility.

The hatch that was located at one end of the room had started to move. If Wesker remembered correctly it led to the sewers… which also connected to the train station.

"None of the infected could have survived," he said, to assure Birkin – and himself.

He had been correct. The hatch was suddenly moved to the side and well trained man emerged from the sewers. He was definitely not an Umbrella employee, Wesker could tell by his attire as well as the extensive tattoo on the man's arm. He would have remembered such an outstanding detail had he come across it before.

The man bent down again helping a second person up, who must have obviously survived.

"Who the hell are those people?" Birkin asked and the look in his eyes would have turned the two intruders into a pile of ash, if looks could do that.

The second person turned out to be a girl. One that Wesker was familiar with. Several alarms went off in his brain as the couple inspected the hall they were in and stared at the Umbrella logo in astonishment.

"The girl is a rookie from STARS Bravo team," Wesker explained.

"Hm… and what about the male?"

"Him I don't recognize." Apparently Birkin was thinking along the same lines as he. Bravo team had come upon the train. Their fate was now clear to Wesker, and all the possibilities concerning Apha team had been reduced to a few he could handle with ease. That Rebecca Chambers was the only survivor of her team slightly surprised Wesker though. If anybody were to survive he would have guessed the lucky one to be Marini, the leader of the Bravos.

"I don't like this," Birkin let him know.

"Go down and tell them, not me." Birkin gave him an odd look.

Chambers and her mysterious companion now approached the huge portrait of James Marcus that was hanging atop the stairs. Wesker didn't understand what they said thanks to the mute video screen, but judging by the movement of the man's lips he was just reading the writing under the picture.

Suddenly, the long forgotten voice of Dr. Marcus echoed through the halls of the Training Facility – including the surveillance room. Birkin instinctively gripped Wesker's shoulder the color having drained from his face.

Nobody talked about Marcus, especially not Birkin and Wesker.

'…_this is Dr. Marcus…'_

'Please be silent as we now reflect about our company's motto.'

'…_obedience breeds discipline…discipline breeds unity…' _

"It's just the introduction tape," Wesker realized, relieved. Birkin let go of his shoulder. "It must have somehow been set off when they neared the portrait."

'…_unity is power… power is life…'_

But just as the two started to relax the screen showing the Main Hall began to flicker. Soon after the other monitors joined into the dance of static.

"What the-" Birkin started, but didn't finish.

The grey dots on the screen suddenly formed back to an image and for a moment Wesker thought it had only been a transmission problem. But it wasn't. The screens came back to life, yet they all showed the same image. This alone was impossible to start with. The cameras zoomed in on a shabbily clothed man, whom he didn't recognize.

"Who are you?" Wesker asked, though he awaited no answer. Whoever the mysterious man was, he couldn't hear him over the intercom.

However, the man did something that spoke against the rules of the system again, and it deeply unnerved Wesker. He looked directly at the camera – no, directly at Wesker and Birkin – before he started to talk, and despite the device not allowing it his voice was heard just as clearly as that of Marcus before, though that had been transmitted through a different instrument this man should have no access to.

"It was I, who scattered the T-virus in the mansion. Needless to say I contaminated the train too."

"What?!" Birkin blurted out and Wesker furrowed a brow in concern. Who was this man?

The person in question turned around, yet he didn't seem to intend to leave the picture. Instead he raised his arms up and something began crawling towards him, though the image was too fuzzy for Wesker to recognize what it was. Many small organisms piled up in front of him, until they took the form of someone the two knew all too well – or better said, had known.

"Dr. Marcus?!" Birkin asked surprised and among the surprise Wesker could also detect a considerably amount of confusion.

The younger man turned back to them again. "Ten years ago Dr. Marcus was murdered by Umbrella. You helped them, didn't you?" Wesker's heart skipped a beat at the last sentence and he was sure that Birkin wasn't far away from a heart attack either.

The connection died. All cameras were restored and showed their normal areas of observation.

None of the two spoke a word until Birkin finally broke the silence. "Those were leeches," he said and the word was surely accompanied by memories, "Earlier… when something slipped out of the window… that was a leech. Umbrella's men who were attacked on the train…" he shook his head, refusing to believe it, "… it's his leeches, Albert, he somehow survived."

The fact alone that Birkin was calling him by his first name was alarming enough for Wesker. The realization that a man whom they had thought dead for ten years had miraculously come back to life somehow, was scaring him somehow.

It threw all his plans upside down, because to be honest, this turn of events had caught Wesker off guard. He had been expecting much, but not this.

"Do we still have files on his research?" he suddenly asked, determined to solve the problem.

Birkin nodded skeptically, "I believe so… we still store some copies at the Raccoon Lab, though his work is outdated."

"That is irrelevant. We need to check on his progress with those leeches. There might be something we have overlooked during the initial read." He doubted it, since such a discovery wasn't simply overlooked. But he couldn't explain Marcus' resurrection otherwise either.

"I can go fetch them. I know exactly where they should be." Birkin stood up demonstratively and Wesker briefly wondered if he just wanted to flee and bring his precious G-virus into security. He decided he would trust the man.

"Go. But make haste." Before Birkin had reached the door though, Wesker stopped him a last time, "You must have some strong sedatives at your lab. Bring me a handful, if you would be so kind." It was no simple request he asked of the researcher, it was an order. Birkin seemed confused for a moment, but Wesker prompted him sternly.

"They are required for later. Now go."

* * *

**Ah, Mr. Marcus made his grand appearance. Wesker finally has some time for himself now with Birkin gone, but will he come back? Poor Rebecca and Billy are just spacefillers in this story, so expect no real action concerning the two. We're getting closer to the grand finale, two or three chapters methinks.**

**On another note, some of the dialogues in this chapter are almost similar to the few scenes in the game Birkin and Wesker are credited in. I wanted to stick to Capcom's story as much as possible.**

**Until you wait for lucky number 7, what about you busy yourself with writing a review for this story? I'd be very happy about it. Probably would even make me type faster...**


	7. Chapter VII

**As always a hearty thanks to the people who took the time to tell me their thoughts, Redundant Goddess and wulfgarfang (hope you get better soon!).  
****Now on to Chapter 7. Prepare for some heated arguments between our favorite researchers, as well as a revelation.**

Chapter VII

Whatever Birkin did, he took his time doing it. Wesker checked the watch again, but it didn't reveal the scientist's whereabouts.

In the beginning he'd busied himself with observing Chambers and her faithful companion, trying to determine whether they could pose a threat. Even though the girl proved to be better than he initially thought and her partner seemed to know how to use a weapon Wesker did not worry.

They had as of yet survived all carriers without getting infected. They had even defeated one of the Cerberus dogs that had somehow made its way to the surface, which Wesker had to admit spoke for their teamwork. However rendering a MA-39 dead for good was no achievement he would bow to. The creatures were merely basic test subjects, not even deserving the title of 'weapon'. Dogs didn't require much apart from water or food and their carnivorous nature made them perfect to experiment on them.

Wesker might even give the man a chance to dispose of one of the more brutal Eliminator apes, but neither of them had a chance to get out of the Facility alive. For one, because they would soon run out of ammo. And secondly there was no way they could escape Wesker had programmed for them.

When he had first seen the intruders part of him set off the alarms that Chambers might learn about his work for Umbrella, but he'd shut it out soon after. The chance that they accidentally found their way to the labs was minimal. The chance that one of them stumbled across his name in connection to the company was even smaller.

And in the end it didn't matter. Even if all odds turned in their favor, even if Rebecca Chambers, an eighteen year old rookie learned of Wesker's past and present, he still held their future in his hands. Birkin didn't know yet, but once he was back – with or without reports – they would set off the self destruct system.

Whoever the mysterious man on the intercom had been, the fact alone that he had apparently unleashed the virus in multiple locations was alarming. Wesker for one didn't think the stranger had bluffed. He had had enough knowledge of the facility to be able and tweak the security cameras and other technical equipment necessary to give them a good scare. Wesker wanted to do likewise. Once the self destruct system was set off there was no way to circumvent it anymore let alone reverse it.

If he remembered correctly there was some mechanism to modify the 'warning' time, and if he could manage to set the alert to only inform the personnel that 'evacuation was mandatory' about two or three minutes before detonation nobody had a chance to get out in time.

Umbrella would lose some of its research, but as the name implied it was only a Training Facility. The real work was done in the other labs and they had back up samples and copies of all reports anyway. It was not that Wesker cared anymore. He would lure STARS into the mansion, pick up what he needed and blow Spencer's Mansion off the world.

Wesker fully intended to make use of the lab's self-destruct program too. It would be inconceivable to imagine what would happen if the virus made it outside the Arklay Forest. Raccoon would be the next necropolis and as he knew Umbrella, they wouldn't exactly hold out a helping hand.

He turned his attention back to the screens, but apart from Chambers and her partner, who were sneaking around the Conference Room there was no sign of further developments. The Marcus imposter hadn't reported again and although Wesker had gone through all alternatives of how a ten year dead man could be resurrected, he had come up with no explanation yet.

It was irrelevant, anyway.

If not for the seriousness of the situation Wesker might have bothered to research Marcus' sudden reanimation – if it indeed was him – but with the final outcome in the back of his mind the STARS captain would leave the speculations to Birkin. He saw no way how Marcus could survive an explosion of such extent. Not even Umbrella's strongest BOWs could, so why should he?

Wesker stood up stretching his slightly sore muscles. The headache had dulled down to a throbbing that sometimes changed its intensity, but he could live with it. Walking over to one of the lockers Wesker opened it and promptly found what he was looking for. Luckily for him Umbrella stored maps of the Mansion and the labs located beneath it here.

Until Birkin returned he had time to study every little detail – he would need it, that was sure. Which was also part of the reason why he had so easily let Birkin go in the first place. With both the STARS mission and Umbrella's little dilemma taking away most of his time and attention, Wesker had to use every free moment to prepare for the important thing. If he failed to retrieve the samples, or happened to get himself infected with the t-virus, his future was predictable. Namely that he wouldn't leave the Spencer Mansion again.

He had to avoid contamination at all costs, more so even than obtaining the data. If worst came to worst he could build up another life wherever he wanted to, disappearing from the face of the earth. The money for that he had – Umbrella had paid him enough to last as long as it had to.

The virus, however, was another matter entirely. An infection would be fatal and there was no way Wesker could get his hands on the antivirus so soon as he needed it.

Suddenly he caught a movement with the corner of his eye. It was coming from one of the monitors surpervising the backside of the Facility. He immediately rushed to the screens, for a moment sure that it was Marcus.

It was Enrico Marini.

Bravo Team's Captain had somehow made it through the forest seemingly unharmed, letting Wesker wonder how many STARS had survived in the first place. The thought occurred to him that some of them might even have stumbled into the Mansion, hoping to have found a safe haven.

However, there was no need to make assumptions now. By entering the Training Facility Marini had just signed his death warrant.

Wesker observed the man for another while, also briefly checking Chamber's location. She was still at the other side of the building. He let his eyes wander back to the map now laid out in front of him, trying to take a mental tour of the Mansion and marking spots where he guessed the infection rate might be high.

The labs for one, were certainly sprawling with undead. Following the computer protocols all researchers had probably been locked there the moment the system had caught a trace of the biohazard. That, or one of the workers had done so himself, knowing what consequences it would bring with it if he hadn't.

Wesker took a careful look at the map detailing the labs too. He tried to remember where the animals were kept, content on avoiding said locations as much as possible. When he caught sight of the little room titled 'Surveillance' Wesker let out a relieved sigh. Considering the danger Umbrella faced each day, they had been intelligent enough to position the observation room pretty far from the actual experimentation, not putting anyone who wanted to reach them through having to cross the hot zone first.

To enter the labs in general he must not forget to take one of the key cards with him, which would open the locked doors for him. Only personnel of the highest security level were able enter or exit contaminated areas. He wondered whether someone like that had been present during the leak and if they had tried to escape the horror. It would explain the recent cannibalism everybody talked about in Raccoon.

Wesker put away the map, certain that he had memorized enough of the details. HE would not take it with him. At this rate he wouldn't even be able to walk straight if kept adding things to his list of necessary utensils.

He would stock up on ammo, both for the Magnum and the Samurai Edge. A set of special BOW rounds would accompany him too, not to mention some of Birkin's tranquillizers that were bound to arrive soon. He had briefly considered bringing empty vials for the samples, but had quickly decided against it. Wesker was heading into a secret underground lab; there would be enough there. Once he arrived back at the RPD he would also make sure to protect the body parts most likely for an attack. Arms and legs were usually the carrier's parts of desire, but they could bite their rotten teeth out on Wesker's kevlar. He wondered whether he should wear a bullet proof vest, but too much would attract the STARS' attention. He couldn't need that.

Another movement on one of the cameras caught his attention and he saw Birkin walking down the hallway from the elevator carrying a large stock of papers in his hands, no doubt all reports of Marcus' research. It wasn't long before the door to the room croaked open and Birkin huddled in. He put the reports on the desk next to Wesker, fishing out a little box from the pocket of his lab coat and handed it to the other man.

"These will be of help."

Before Wesker could inspect the items in question, a folder was shoved into his hands forcing the examination of Birkin's sedatives to have to wait.

"I didn't have time to look through all yet, and just took off the shelves what I could grab. I'm almost positive that we can find some sort of hint in his reports if we look closely enough. Back then all we wanted was rapid success. We might not have interpreted parts correctly, or left some out completely."

The scientist was apparently determined to find a solution to the problem, but unlike Wesker's, Birkin's method needed a lot more time. Time they didn't have.

He calmly put the papers back on the desk waiting for Birkin's attention, who was already absorbed into one of the old reports. Eventually he looked up though, surprised that Wesker hadn't started to read yet.

"What is it?" Birkin asked, glancing at the folder he had handed over as if to assure it was the right one.

"I have found a much quicker solution to our problem," Wesker stated.

"Have there been developments with the cameras?"

"None of any significance. However, due to the danger of us losing control of the situation, I have decided to make use of the self destruct system."

Birkin looked at him as if he was joking, but apparently reminded himself of Wesker's lack of humor as his face took on serious features again. By the looks of it he didn't approve much of the idea.

"Are you serious?! This is a frivolity! What about all the research here? You just want to… bomb it away?!" there was a trace of anger as he said it.

"Correctly."

"I cannot agree with that!" Birkin objected, and his voice raised. "We will ask for another team to come and pick up the latest results. And we still need to discover the nature of Marcus' resurrection!"

Wesker gave him a warning look. "Whether you agree or not is of no importance. This has escalated into a situation where we must determine how to save as much as possible-"

"- not with blowing it all to hell!-"

"- and as highest ranking officer, I am in charge to dispose of the problem, doctor." He lay special emphasis on the last word. This was not about microbiology anymore, this was a matter of strategic and military status.

Birkin seemed to accept that point, however he was nowhere near to surrender.

"People have worked here day and night, and now you simply want to destroy the fruits of their labor, simply because you are impatient of waiting for another troop?!"

"This is not about impatience. In the last twelve hours Umbrella has lost two teams. In the last day the company lost hundreds of employees. If we continue to wait, the United States will soon miss the entire population of a city. Such casualties we cannot risk."

"_Bullshit__!_" Birkin yelled, and Wesker was a little surprised to hear him curse. William Birkin normally used finer vocabulary, though Wesker had to admit that in a situation like this little outbursts were probable unavoidable. "Umbrella will take care of this before anything gets public as they have always done! There are millions of dollars right there," Birkin argued, pointing at the screens to prove his point, "How can you explain to Umbrella that your decision cost them an enormous amount of money?"

"I won't." Wesker stated flatly. "However, I will retrieve samples of all research from the Arklay Facility, before disposing of it. The work they performed there was similar to the experiments here."

Birkin looked shocked, "You want to destroy that too?"

Wesker shrugged, "I am not going there to enjoy myself, if you had that assumption."

"Umbrella will hardly be satisfied with a handful of the vials and papers."

"That is not my concern," Wesker said, "There are enough others who value it."

There was silence.

Birkin was about to argue against it again, when he suddenly seemed to understand what had just been said. He looked at Wesker in horror, although he probably fully well knew what those words meant.

"What?"

"I am leaving Umbrella." Somehow, Wesker made it sound as if he was talking about the weather.

"You mean you're selling our life's work to the highest bidder!" Birkin almost shouted. The man's reaction was predictable and to some point understandable.

"No," Wesker disagreed, keeping his voice calm, "After such a loss as it is going to face now, how long do you think Umbrella will still drag itself away from the media's watchful eyes? Perhaps it won't happen now, but sometime someone will make a connection. Umbrella's been getting sloppy. You know that. You see it. It will only be so long before they take a nosedive. And the impact is going to be hard. I'm not willing to stay and watch when one by one they get arrested and the illegal research is confiscated and being shipped off to Area 51."

Wesker paused a moment, letting the information sink in.

"You see, I am not selling our work. I am merely assuring that its existence will continue in the hands of capable people and a company that does not break down the fence in front of its garden because it has forgotten what it keeps in the backyard."

"I'm not helping you with this," Birkin said determined and held out a hand, "Give me the sedatives. I'm not letting you ruin it all!"

Wesker briefly considered to yield to the researchers' wishes for a moment and send him off, but the sudden red light blinking on the operating console had both men's attention in an instant.

"The Eliminators are out. Somebody opened the cages."

**Now it's out. Wesker leaves, Birkin isn't very happy about it. The end is nearing and people ask themselves "The virus! Goddamn, write about the virus already!!" Duh. But why would Birkin now still give Wesker such a precious substance? Certainly not a goodbye present. Well, there's no other way to find out than to check out the next chapter of Ab Initio!**

**Review, anyone?**


	8. Chapter VIII

**Thank you very much yold6 (thanks for the hint!) and wulfgarfang (really, if I was a write for Capcom you would have SO many more games centered around Wesker!) for their helpful and encouraging reviews!**

**Here is part 8 of the story that is the prelude to a man's rise in evolution.**

Chapter VIII

"It must have been him," Birkin said convinced and stared at the screens in horror, watching as the infected apes fled their cages. The rage for Wesker had momentarily died down, his entire worry concentrated on the newest happenings.

"How can he have access to all the programs though?" Wesker asked rhetorically, pushing his shades back up the bridge of his nose.

"What does he actually want to do with them? They're still locked down in the labs…" then it deemed on Birkin that that might be due to change very soon. If Marcus had the means to control the facility, he wouldn't sit around idly and have Birkin and Wesker play their game without interfering.

"That's what I am talking about," Wesker said in a sharp tone, pointing to the monitors, "We cannot risk anything of this getting out. Hell, William, we cannot risk him letting those monkeys lose on us."

Birkin's eyes widened as the realization hit him, that they weren't all that safe in their secret hideout anymore. Marcus – or whatever he had become – had something up his sleeve the two of them couldn't match. Wesker had a point, no doubt. But the sheer thought of revelation that he was just going to leave made Birkin sick.

Not after all this time, not now. Wesker wasn't the man to turn and run in the face of danger, yet this was exactly what he did. He abandoned Umbrella, and with his leave would deal them a last heavy blow in mockery of the 'failure' he apparently thought the company was. But this wasn't even what angered Birkin so incredibly. It was the fact that he turned his back on his work – on their work – as if it counted nothing to him! All those years and he could simply say goodbye within the blink of an eye? Or had this been planned long before? Had Wesker joined Umbrella for the sole purpose of betraying them afterwards? Had he been planted by another company among the ranks of the pharmaceutical enterprise to spy on them all along?

Birkin glanced at Wesker fleetingly, but the man was too concentrated on the screens to notice it.

Was Wesker after the G Virus? Had their comradeship acted as a decoy to get access to Birkin's work?

But they had been paired up together before they could have even imagined that something like the Progenitor existed. Perhaps it had been incidentally, perhaps they had only worked together because of their similar age, perhaps he was taking too many wild stabs at Wesker.

But perhaps Wesker would knife him in the back once the G virus was fully synthesized, and steal his life in more than one way.

Suddenly Birkin realized that he had made a horrible, horrible mistake. He regarded the box of sedatives with a guilty expression, knowing that there was much more to it than met the eye and that, if he didn't get his guts together, he would pick the shortest straw.

"Alright," he finally said and his voice was resolute, making even Wesker look up at his sudden change of mind.

"My assumptions have proved correct then," the STARS commander began and nodded his head, "I always thought you were a clever man."

Clever, intelligent… so many of these adjectives had been used in connection with Birkin, yet he had been incredibly, utterly stupid. However, Birkin wasn't going to throw his cards away now and call it a day. He would keep a straight face and he would put that mind of his to work.

In less than a moment Wesker had turned into a dangerous man, and Birkin knew to prepare himself against such threats. For now he would play along, but later… later he would make sure nobody got the G virus. He'd confer with Annette, and they would find a solution as they always did and all menaces would be cut down to zero and they would finally be able to bring an end to what they had started.

And neither Umbrella nor Wesker, or anybody else could take it away from them.

"We'll do it," he said again, part of him not wanting to accept what words had just left his lips.

Wesker nodded, and opened one of the drawers retrieving a small memory stick from it.

"Before we activate the self destruct system, we need to safe the security protocols – and abuses of such – as well as all the video material containing Marcus on it. Umbrella will want an explanation for our reasoning and they'll frown upon arguments not accentuated by visual material."

"I thought you were going to leave," Birkin threw in coldly.

"Yes."

And that was all Wesker said to defend himself, once more fueling Birkin's irritation of the man's strait choice of words.

Why had he even told him of his plans in the first place? Wasn't he afraid that Birkin could call Umbrella and inform them of Wesker's intents? No… he probably wasn't afraid. Wesker knew just as well as Birkin that he would not say a word to Umbrella about this. It was just too dangerous to get into a false light with the company, especially now with two facilities about to be destroyed and one of its top members leaving. He would only attract attention to the G-virus, and Birkin couldn't risk that.

But was this then the reason that Wesker had filled him in? First the warning about Umbrella and now his departure…

Birkin took the memory stick from the other man, plugging it into the appropriate slot. It would take a while for the data to transfer, but with the Eliminators lose now, they had more than enough material to convince Umbrella that this had been the only logical procedure.

He would convince Umbrella, Birkin corrected himself. Wesker wouldn't be there anymore.

"Interesting…," the man beside him suddenly said and Birkin turned his attention to the screen Wesker was looking at. The Eliminators were inspecting their now enlarged territory as suddenly a door electronically opened into another room. At first the animals were reluctant, but curiosity led them on.

As soon as the majority was out into the other room the door closed behind them again and the one at the other side opened.

"He's leading them out of the lab," Birkin concluded and Wesker nodded. By now it was clear that they didn't deal with some imposter of Marcus, but with the doctor himself. It was funny how both of them had accepted his resurrection so easily and were taking it as granted. If not for the danger he posed, Birkin would have laughed.

"Is he directing them towards us?", he suddenly asked, the thought just having crossed his mind.

Wesker didn't answer right away, observing the screen for another moment before shaking his head, "This is not the direction towards the surveillance room. I dare say he wants to get rid of Chambers and her companion. Or Marini, perhaps."

"Who?"

"Enrico Marini, the leader of STARS Bravo team. He entered the Training Facility while you were gone to retrieve the reports."

Birkin raised an eyebrow, annoyed that Wesker had suppressed that fact.

"What else happened then, that you didn't tell me of?"

"Nothing." It was Wesker's way of ending a discussion. He readjusted his sunglasses and took a look at his watch.

"I will need to go. Alpha team will get suspicious if I am not present some time before the mission start and Irons isn't competent enough to tell them believable lies."

Birkin frowned. Irons knew about Wesker's plan? He couldn't believe that Wesker would tell everybody he came across. He'd always struck Birkin as the type of man to plan everything unto the smallest detail and have alternate options for every possible outcome. Including Irons into any plan was risky. He should know, after all he did it himself and it was too difficult to stop a car that had no brakes. Leaving Irons out meant filling Umbrella in, and the company would disprove of the personal security measures Birkin had set up. They wouldn't appreciate it at all.

"Wait until the data is recorded, then set off the self destruct system and we can be gone." Birkin said, shrugging, "there is nothing that keeps me here any longer."

Wesker had another idea, "No. As I said, I need to leave. It will still be a while until all information is transferred and I don't have that time. You have to retrieve it and activate the sequence yourself."

Birkin's eyes went wide. "What? No!"

"I thought you had eventually agreed?"

"I agreed to let you do it, not do it myself! You can't simply disappear and leave all the blame on me!"

"No one will come to know. All material not recorded on the stick will be lost beyond reconditioning. You have nothing to fear."

Birkin snorted, "Yeah, sure."

Wesker stood up, apparently taking these words as affirmation. He looked around the room to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything and grabbed the box of sedatives and BOW rounds. Birkin stood up too, his consciousness already screaming for him to do something before it was too late.

"Where are you going?" Wesker asked, scrutinizing him.

"I'm accompanying you to the elevator. Just to make sure none of Marcus' toys get to you." In comparison with Wesker, Birkin still had some distinct traces of humor left and he guessed it was better to make use of them as long as he was still able too. Wesker didn't laugh though, nor did he.

As they walked down the corridor Birkin suddenly asked, "So what are you going to do now?"

"I will follow my initial plans," Wesker said, pressing the button to call the elevator. Its doors opened almost immediately and the STARS captain entered, facing Birkin, "I will lead Alpha team into the Mansion and acquire the necessary combat data on the BOWs."

Birkin wondered whether this was the condition for Wesker to switch to whatever company he intended to abandon Umbrella for, but he didn't ask. Instead he simply nodded and as the elevator doors closed Birkin said something, that, in truth, he hoped wouldn't happen.

"Good luck."

* * *

**I hope this chapter gave a little insight into Birkin's paranoid mind. Whatever conclusion he reaches, it has to do something with the G virus, which shows just how much he praises it. In RE Zero Birkin seemed to know of Wesker's plans, but I always wondered why he wouldn't tell Umbrella about it. I hoped my reason seemed appropriate. He might have done it out of simple friendship too, but I don't think either of the two value friendship as much as that.**

**Next chapter will be the last one, and yes, you'll finally find out what virus Wesker's getting. I didn't want to watch UC on Youtube before it gets released here, however I managed to get my hands on the file that came with Wesker's virus, so I have a slight idea of what it is now.**

**Been keeping you here eight chapters, and I'll make you read until the end! I hope you enjoyed this story so far (let me know in a review?) and be prepared for the grande finale!**


	9. Chapter IX

**A huge thanks to wulfgarfang. I was already believing that the previous chapter has been so incredibly bad that I scared everyone away. Well... perhaps I did?**

**Here is the final chapter of Ab Initio. **

Chapter IX

Wesker picked up the Magnum on his way to the RCPD, stowing it securely inside his vest. If he could avoid to let the STARS know anything about his additional equipment, all the better. Both BOW bullets and Birkin's sedatives were thrown onto the seat beside him. He didn't have time to decide on the quantity he would take with him. Until Alpha team was busy making final preparations, he would be able and catch up on that.

Wesker pulled the car into the driving lot of the police department. He noticed the lack of many other vehicles and relaxed. It was still early. Very early. Two hours before the normal shifts began and three until Alpha team was supposed to gather in their office.

He had insisted on coming so early, for one because he was sure the team would be here long before their official briefing was to take place and secondly, because it would be too suspicious for him to be absent in such a delicate situation for too long. Irons had probably been a lousy liar about his whereabouts and despite the seriousness Wesker couldn't deny a slight curiosity on what the Chief had told STARS; for they had certainly asked where their Captain was.

He strode towards the entrance, sedatives and bullets for now tucked away in one of the many pockets. Despite the early hour the main hall of the police department was occupied by a secretary. She was probably taking in the emergency calls from desperate citizens, who couldn't get their cats off a tree. She briefly looked up as Wesker entered, but returned to whatever her attention had been on before.

The STARS office was located on the second floor. Before opening the door Wesker could already hear talk inside. It turned out to be Joseph Frost who sat in front of the radio station, unsuccessfully trying to get a sign of live from Bravo team. When the captain entered, he stopped in his contacting attempts.

"You're early, captain."

Wesker ignored the comment, "Have there been any developments?"

Joseph shook his head, "None so far."

"Well, continue then. The others will be here soon. I take it everything is prepared?"

At this Joseph nodded eagerly. "Kept Chickenheart up all night to check out the chopper."

'Chickenheart' was Brad Vickers' nickname among his fellow teammates and it fit perfectly.

Wesker briefly wondered why Joseph was sitting here instead of Jill, whom he had actually instructed to do so, but he guessed the two had replaced eachother after some time. He dismissed the thought immediately and turned back towards the door.

"I'm going to talk to Irons," he said, not waiting for Joseph's answer. However, the police chief's office wasn't his goal this time. The destination he seeked lay at the other side of the RCPD. The letters 'Armory' were inscribed on the door and Wesker pushed it open, relieved to find it empty of people.

Before STARS arrived he would make his own little preparations. Wesker moved to one of the benches and discarded his vest. Its contents sounded against the wood when he put it down, but first he was going to take care of decent protection.

The police office provided all sort of equipment and for once Wesker was glad that he had such a repertoire to choose from. He looked at various protective vests first and picked one out that was his size.

He knew that later, he would be very thankful for the kevlar standing between him and the T-virus. Wesker also selected a pair of shinguards. They might come in handy if any of the MA-39 got out. The dogs liked to jump at legs and for all Wesker cared they could bite their teeth out on the kevlar.

The vest would protect his torso should he encounter any Hunters. The specimen they kept at the Arklay Facility were especially vicious. Cruel and fast, he knew from experience. One claw could be enough to end a man's life and that would go against his plans. Wesker didn't like it when somebody – or something – brought his plans to naught.

He took his time in putting the armor on, making sure that it sat perfectly and wouldn't hinder him in any movement. The leg protection he wore under his combat pants and he would pull the tactical vest over the kevlar one, so STARS wouldn't see it.

Wesker couldn't possibly know what they were thinking, but he could be sure to assume that they wouldn't expect something on this scale. While the T-virus would catch them off guard Wesker would be prepared – as he always was.

He put the tactical vest back on, feeling the presence of some objects in one of the pockets. Curiously he fished the contents out and it turned out to be the BOW rounds and Birkin's sedatives.

There was a flash of worry about Birkin, but Wesker discarded it quickly. Birkin was much too terrified about his precious G-virus to screw this up. Letting Umbrella's pets loose on Raccoon would not only cost him his position as head researcher, but also the work he had devoted his life to.

Personally, Wesker doubted that Birkin could handle such a kick in the teeth. Mentally he wouldn't. And from there it never takes long to fail physically too. He was too centered on what he was doing.

Too dependable on his research.

Too dependable on Umbrella.

Albert Wesker was not.

For the time being he put the sedatives back down and headed over to the locker that contained the ammunition. He took out the keys necessary to open it and was soon faced with the decision of what he would take with him. And how much of it.

Given the amount of ammunition that the RCPD stored here, you could say that they prepared for the next world war. It gave Wesker a lot of possibilities. He had to keep in mind that Barry would later still supply them all with the standard weapons and ammo to go by, so he shouldn't take too much along with him. Once more he had to consider that he would have to keep his extra inventory secret.

In the end he settled with three additional clips for the Handgun and the BOW rounds for the Magnum. To make it less suspicious the items were distributed across all the pockets of his vest and combat pants. When Wesker was satisfied he turned back to the box of sedatives.

Those, he would have to store securely. Opening the box, Wesker's eyes fell on a multitude of vials, certainly all tranquilizers of different intensity. He glanced at some of them, recognized familiar names he had grown to learn by heart over the years.

One vial, however, was unlabeled. Wesker took it out, scanning its contents, but he couldn't discern it. Had Birkin accidentally grabbed some fake? In the hurry he must have been it seemed a probable explanation to Wesker. He shrugged, and put the vial back into the box, taking out the other sedatives to inspect them.

That's when he noticed the paper.

Wesker furrowed a brow when he realized that the scribble was addressed to him. Stowing the phials in another pocket of his vest, he grabbed the letter.

And frowned.

_We go way back, so I hope you forgive me cutting the formalities. I don't have much time. I must describe how to use the item in question._

_The sample you have been given is from one of the mutation stocks. It possesses a unique characteristic. It should be injected into the host at least five minutes before needed. The results are almost immediate, but they do require a few minutes to completely take effect._

_The substance in question provides the subject with a heightened regeneration metabolism, healing wounds almost instantly._

_Even in death, as long as some portion of the host remains, it can reconstruct the rest, and bring it back to life. During this process, there is a brief period where the host appears, for all intents and purposes, dead._

_In experiments with animals, seventy percent of the subjects came back to life, with no visible side effects. Twenty percent initially accepted the substance, but their organism disintegrated it before full impact could take place. The remaining ten percent remained dead._

_The substance hasn't been tested in connection with the viruses yet, neither has it been injected into a human host. However, my theoretical research leads me to the assumption that, due to its origin being the antibodies against the Progenitor, it could abolish the T-virus from the host system._

_I'm not sure how this will help._

_Put it to good use._

No doubt, the 'substance' was the unlabeled vial and it caused Wesker to glance skeptically at it. This was Birkin's doing. Despite the fact that it could only be him, Wesker also recognized the handwriting. He had always had trouble making out the researcher's scribble.

All that, though, was quite irrelevant now. Wesker read the note again, but even then he was at a loss of what to do, and that didn't happen very often. Questions raced through his mind and to his disliking he had too few answers to satisfy them.

Why?

How?

Birkin was no fool. Why should he provide Wesker with such a valuable substance?

If it was valuable at all. He frowned. Perhaps Birkin just wanted him out of the way, wanted to stop him from leaving Umbrella.

No.

He had only told Birkin of his leave after the researcher had retrieved the sedatives. Had Birkin known before? If so, he was a good actor. The concern in his features had seemed so real, it was hard for Wesker to believe otherwise. Or had Birkin fooled him to such an extent that he hadn't noticed?

Even if the sample proved to be real, how had Birkin managed to keep silent about its discovery? How had he managed to keep its existence a secret from Umbrella? Such an outstanding finding didn't pass unseen and as head researcher Wesker would have been informed about it.

But every thought led back to the one question. Why had Birkin given it to him? If it was so effective as he claimed Birkin should have kept it for himself, especially in regards to his G-virus and Umbrella's want for it. Perhaps he had more of the concoction?

There were endless possibilities. Wesker didn't know what to make out of it. Why hadn't he opened the box of sedatives earlier? In Birkin's presence? He tried to bring the events back from his memory.

Birkin had arrived, given him the phials and… shoved the Marcus report in right after, not giving Wesker a chance to inspect them. And then the Elminators had escaped their cages and the last thing Wesker had had in mind was to look at the serums.

Had that been intention on Birkin's side? Why hadn't he wanted to give Wesker the little present during their observation of the Training Facility? More questions could have been solved that way, not leaving him in total darkness.

He briefly contemplated calling Birkin, but he doubted that the researcher could tell him anything on the phone. If Umbrella was unaware of the substance's existence Birkin wouldn't risk drawing any attention to himself. Neither would Wesker.

Somehow he doubted that Birkin had given him the vial out of comradeship. That was out of place, and why would the scientist have wanted Wesker to escape the Mansion alive anyway? Had he finally registered the danger the facility posed if not being taken care of? Had he wanted to avoid a further spill of the virus? Was Birkin such a humanitarian-

Suddenly the door behind him opened, and Wesker turned around quickly, not having heard the sound before. Poking her head in was Jill, a mix of surprise and confusion marking her features upon seeing him.

"Finally!" she said relieved and entered the room completely, "We've been searching the whole building already. Everyone is present, Captain."

He nodded, acknowledged the fact and unbeknownst to Jill tucked the vial into one of his pockets. They were early. Too early.

"I'm on my way."

There was no time left to solve the mystery around Birkin.

There was no time to speculate, to assume, or to believe.

There was only time to act.

Resolutely Wesker left safety behind him to lead the STARS into their unpreventable doom. He had their loyalty. He had their trust. He had the power.

* * *

_All human actions have one or more of these seven causes:  
__chance, nature, compulsion, habit, reason,  
__**passion**__,  
__and  
__**desire**__._

_-Aristotle_

* * *

**THE END**

* * *

**First of all, let me elaborate on the quote. Passion and desire, those are the two driving forces for Birkin's and Wesker's actions.**

**Birkin's passion for his life's work urged him to participate in Umbrella's and ultimately, Wesker's game. He did it solely to ensure that nothing gets out and he can continue research on the G virus.**

**Wesker action's are fueled by desire. Of which nature remains as of yet unknown. Be it power, wealth, we don't know. But whatever he wants, he has the devotion and the means to get it. Soon, his resources will multiply.**

**And now, Wesker's virus: I kept to the game script I found on the net pretty much, except ridding it of all its positive attributes. If Birkin had possessed such a powerful substance in the first place, he would have never given it to Wesker. And Umbrella would have known of its existence, so would have had all researchers who worked with him. If it had been the breakthrough, Birkin would have given it more attention.**

**Well, now that you've stuck with me for so long, what about giving a last (or first) review? Tell me how you liked the story. It would mean a lot to me, even if I get negative comments. Then I would know how I could improve.**

**--**

A little preview:

**bene merenti  
**_success to those who deserve it  
_During the Mansion Incident Albert Wesker is murdered by his own creation, the Tyrant. The mysterious virus saves him, but can he cope with the side effects?

--

**I hope to see you soon! If you want answers to all those questions, we'll meet again.**


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